Cattle-guard



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. o. HALLEY.

CATTLE GUARD.

No. 602,075. PatentedApr,1 2,1898.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. C. HALLEY.

` CATTLE GUARD.

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

CATTLE GUARD.

' No. 602,075. PatentedApr. 12,1898.

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fr V' NrTnD STATES vPATENT,

Fries.

CATTLE-GUARD.

SPEGIFIOATIONformii-lg part of Letters Patent No. 602,075, dated April 12, 1898.

Appnmion had June 10,1897. sentira. 640.197. (Nomar) To a/ZZ whom it mag/ concern- Be it known that I, WALTER GOLQUETT HAL- LEY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Halley, in the county of Desha and State of Arkansas, have inventeda certain new and useful Improvement in Cattle-Guards, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates toa new and useful improvement in cattle-guards for use upon railways and similar locations for preventing the passage of cattle along the railway-track from one vfield or pasture into another, and has for its object to improve upon lthe construction shown in United States Patent No. 571,616, granted to me upon the 17th day of November, 1896.

With'this end in view this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, and then specifically designated by the claims.

In `order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, the construction and operation will now be described in detail, referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in whichj Figure'l is a plan view of a cattle-guard made in accordance with my improvement, showing the gates open; Fig. 2, a central longitudinal section of a portion of a railway, showing the arrangement of the operating mechanism, the gates being open; Fig. 3, a view similar to Fig. 2, the gates being closed; Fig. 4, a cross-section of the road-bed and a portion of the guard, illustrating the arrangement of the Vmechanism for operating the gates; Fig. 5, adiagramm'atical view of my improvement, showing the guard inclosed by a suitablefence; and Fig. 6, a detail perspective of the' latch mechanism for holding the gates open when the platforms are in their normal position, so as to prevent said gatesv from being displaced by the wind. y

In carrying out my invention as here ernbodied I mount the platforms A and A' upon the rock-shafts B and B', respectively, which latter are journaled in suitable bearings arranged upon the sides of the railway-track, and secured to the outer ends of the shaft B are the arms C, which, extending upward, are pivoted at D to the levers E. These levers in turn are pivoted to the uprights or posts F,

which are set upon'each side 'of the road-bed, and these posts F have projecting from the tops thereof the brackets G, between each of which and the blocks H are pivoted the gates I. The levers E are connectedby the horizontal links J to the short arms K, projecting from the gates, so that when either platform is tilted so as to swing the arms C this in'turn, through the levers E and links J, will swing the gates across the railway, thereby stopping the passage of cattle, and in order that the two platforms A and Al may work in unison arms K and K2 project from said platforms, respectively,and are coupled together by a slotted joint, as indicated at K3, so that when one platform i's depressed the other will likewise bedepressed; In practice the platforms are set at a slight incline, so that cattle coming in either direction and passing upon one of the platforms will tilt the outer end thereof downward, bringing about the operation of the gates just described.

As a further precaution against the pas sage of cattle and to prevent the same from forcing the gates or attempting to do so I place the representation of a dog-(indicated at L and L)- between the platforms and locate in the former suitable firing mechanism and means for holding cartridges, so that when the gates are swung closed they will strike the iiringmechanism contained in the figure L and discharging the cartridge therein contained will scare off the cattle and prevent them from undertaking to force the gates. After the cattle have withdrawn from the platform the same will be returned to its normal position by mean-s of the weights M, which are adjustably supported upon the rods N, the latter being secured to the rock-shaft, as indicated at O, and by this return of the platforms to their normal positions the gates will be swung open, as will be readily understood, thereby freeing the railway for the passage of trains in the usual manner, and yet at all times maintainingan automatic guard against the passage of cattle.

Under'ordinary circumstances it is preferable to balance or counterbalance the gates, so as to prevent the sagging thereof, and this I accomplish by securing the arms Q to the IOO pintle-post and adjustably placing thereon the weights P, so that the proportion of the weight of the gates which it is desired to overbalance may be varied.

As a' means for preventing the gates from blowing closed when the platforms are in their normal position I provide brackets R upon the outer ends of the rods N, and these brackets carry spring-hooks S, adapted to enter into engagement with the lower portion of the gates I, as indicated in Fig. 6, thus holding said gates in their open position until the platforms have been depressed, thereby lifting these latches out of line with the lower portion of the gates and permitting them to swing closed.

From this description it will be seen that an exceedingly simple arrangement is providedI which will be entirely automatic and absolutely preclude the passage of animals from one eld to another along a railway, and it hasbeen found in practice that after a few attempts of cattle to pass such a guard t'he discharge of the cartridges and the appealance of the dogs will deter them from continuin g the attempt, and this is advantageous, since by continued efforts' to force a gate or fence cattle are known to do much damage to the fencing and finally gain access to the field for which they are striving.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim` as new and useful isl. In combinatioma post set upon each side of the railway, gates hinged thereto, weights l for balancing said gates, two rock shafts journaled; in suitable bearings and extending across the railway-track, arms projecting upwardjfromone of said shafts, levers connected to said arms, short arms projecting from the pintle-posts of the gates, horizontal links con- 4across the railway-track, arms projecting upward from one of said shafts, levers connected `to said arms, short arms projecting from the pintle-posts of the gates, horizontal links con necting the last-named levers and the short arms, a gure of a doghaving firing mechanism therein whereby when the gates are swung closed a cartridge will be discharged,

, and latch-hooks carried by the weighted arms for holding the gates open so long as the platforms remain in their normal positions, as specified.

3. A cattle-guard.consisting of posts mounted on either side of a railway-track, gates `hinged thereto, weights for balancing said gates, rock-shafts journaled in suitable bearings and extending across the track, platforms `mounted on said rockshaft, weighted levers connected with said rock-shafts, latches on the weighted levers to engage the gates, and means connected with the rock-shafts to close said gates when the platforms are depressed,

`substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto afiixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. WALTER COLQUETT HALLEY.

Witnesses:

S. S. WILLmMsoN, J. B. CARMICHEAL. 

